Bunge and Sofiproteol announce re-division of JV’s biodiesel assets

In France, Bunge and Sofiproteol have at last agreed to pull out of their JV in three of their five biodiesel plants in Europe. The Belgian company Oleon Biodiesel, which was a 100%-held subsidiary of the JV, will now be owned directly by Diester Industrie. It is also selling to the Bunge Group its two units based at Bunge’s seed crushing sites: one in Austria, in Bruck an der Leitha (Novaol Austria), which serves a market that has few links with other Sofiprotéol activities, and the other in Mannheim, Germany (MBF). The DII joint venture will continue to own 100% of its Italian subsidiary Novaol Srl, and 50% of the German company NEW.  DII’s biodiesel production capacity will therefore be reduced from 1 million tons to 700,000 tons after these adjustments have been made.